I’m a fan of games… not like dating games or the games people play to get what they want – I mean good-old-fashioned-who-needs-electricity-to-play games. Or the ones on my phone in some cases…
The Wooer and I play Words with Friends… which my mom thinks is (and I quote) “Too Cute” because yes, I smile like a fool when playing… More than who wins or loses, we have fun… and I *may* use it as a barometer for availability. I mean, I know we are both busy with lives and work and kiddos and that is all important, but when we play Words, it’s like a sign saying hey – I have a few minutes and I’m sharing them with you… and it may be followed or preceded by a text.
Yes I read into things. That shouldn’t be a surprise…
ANYWAY, recently he introduced me to cribbage. A game I had previously never played in my life… and then I find out my grandparents used to stay up till all hours of the night playing with my great grandparents back in the day.
My parents never were all that into games to be honest. We all worked hard and played hard but rarely was there a family game night… and by rarely, I kinda mean never…
So, with Spring break upon us, after dinner last night, we turned the TV off and the boys and I decided to play games. Our selections were limited a bit but that didn’t stop us. First up was Jenga.
Mini me is a bit more competitive than the last time we played… Wonder where he gets that from…
The Giant vacillates from high concentration to crazy in a moments notice… also an unfamiliar trait…
Once we had toppled the Jenga tower over 4 or 5 times – once on the second move of the game -we moved on to Scrabble.
Let me ask you… when you play games with your kids, do you let them win? Do you play differently?
I’m sure in part that answer relies on the ages and type of game, but I was thinking back on all of the games the boys and I have played over the years.
The truth is, I don’t ever let them win… in our conversations about this, I’ve shared that if they beat me, I want them to know that they earned that victory. I want them to know that they can be proud of their accomplishment. I may let them get away with a word that is questionable, but that’s not the same as letting them win… in our house, Twerk is absolutely a Scrabble approved word… and I will allow the use of a dictionary for the boys to see how to spell an unfamiliar word, but I never LET them win or play worse because I’m playing them.
I’m also not a fan of the “everyone gets a medal” mentality. I like to think that those who work hard get ahead. Those who focus their efforts succeed. And if I’m being completely honest, throwing a game sends a message that I don’t think they CAN beat me without my help… and I don’t feel that. Which is why this text exchange was so entertaining to me.
And while we are discussing games… in the stores, you can now find board games with the same name as some of our favorite apps… which is ridiculous… Words with Friends? yeah, we call that Scrabble… Draw Something? That would be pictionary…
I’m thinking the TV is going to be off a bit more in our house… I want them to remember the time we spent together someday… not what their favorite TV show is… let’s not go crazy though – Momma likes her TV just as much as the next gal but there was a notable difference after we spent a couple of hours playing games together…
Do you and your kids play games? What are some of your favorites?
I play games with my kiddos. When they were younger, their favorite games were Candyland and Chutes and Ladders. Now that they are older, we play Sorry, Clue, and Connect Four. We also enjoy the card games Uno and 21. I want to teach them how to play War, that was my favorite as a kid.
I do not let my kids win either, even when we played Candyland and Chutes and Ladders. I wanted them to learn that you cannot always win, and win or lose you need to be a good sport.
Exactly!!! Love those games too and will have to break those out for sure 🙂